An Armenian monk has been wounded by Israeli gunfire inside the besieged Church of the Nativity compound in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
Father Maroun Lahham, rector of the Latin seminary in Beit Jala neighbouring Bethlehem, said the monk was shot with an Israeli bullet in the housing complex of the Armenian convent that forms part of the church grounds.
He said he received the information by telephone from the priests inside the Church of the Nativity, one of the holiest sites in Christianity.
The monk, whose identity was not disclosed, was transferred to Hadass hospital in west Jerusalem, a Palestinian source in Bethlehem later said.
Around 200 Palestinian security forces members and civilians have been besieged in the Nativity Church since the Israeli army occupied Bethlehem over a week ago. Around 30 Franciscan friars and other clerics are also inside the church or in adjacent monasteries.
Israel has rejected appeals to end its siege, saying the blockade will continue until the fighters surrender, President Moshe Katsav said in a letter to Pope John Paul II released by the Vatican today.
"Since giving safe conduct to the extremely dangerous terrorists presently in the church would constitute a grave danger to public safety, we have no choice but to maintain our presence in the immediate area," Katsav said.
"We anticipate our redeployment once the terrorists hand themselves over."
AFP